Boat Ramp, sink or swim!

[Neo]

I'm just not willing to let any water in the interior that I didn't bring aboard

Yes but on an you'd have to be on a 45 degree'ish ramp (way more than any public ramp) before water hits the helm floor..... unless there's an in coming wake or surf.

[Neo]

Thanks Guy,
I successfully launched and retrieved my Mac at what is now my favourite boat ramp
Had no problems with sinking tyres or towing the trailer up the ramp but the the trailer frame did come very close to scraping on the concrete (top of the ramp) at one point.
Launching was Soooooo easy ... Didn't even get my feet wet.
Retrieval was a bit harder. The 1st bunk was very high compared to the bow. So with the bow positioned just behind the 1st bunk I towed the car/trailer forward a few feet which (lowered the stern) raised the bow. Then when the bow was firmly on the 1st bunk it became too heavy to winch up so I backed the trailer into the water (a few feet) again. The winch then hauled the bow close to the rubber V-block and the "Mac Bump" did the last 3 inches

It's fun and funny using this boat ramp. The Mac is almost as long as the jetty and the locals look at me like I'm crazy trying to launch a boat that size on such a small ramp .... Thanks again gents.

[Tomfoolery]

Glad it worked ok for you. I almost scrape the jack, and will scrape if I don't remove the wheel, on the steep ramps around here. But it's no biggie.

You might want to back the trailer further in so you can almost float onto the front vee bunk, with a little help from the winch. I back mine (often) until the tow vehicle tires are touching the water. Or well into the water on a shallow ramp.

I really should lay out a roller to assist bringing the bow up to where I can winch it onto the first bunk. Not touching once the bow is on that bunk, but to help it get up there. I've worn the carpet off the back edge of that little bunk from the bow hitting it.

[Neo]

You might want to back the trailer further in so you can almost float onto the front vee bunk, with a little help from the winch. I back mine (often) until the tow vehicle tires are touching the water. Or well into the water on a shallow ramp.

I really should lay out a roller to assist bringing the bow up to where I can winch it onto the first bunk. Not touching once the bow is on that bunk, but to help it get up there. I've worn the carpet off the back edge of that little bunk from the bow hitting it.

When I launched I had about 2 foot between the waterline and the rear bumper and she was floating!.. And when I was retrieving I thought of backing down even further but I was a bit concerned with all the green slippery slim on the concrete. The roller defiantly saved the day for me and I have those nylon skid strips ... which were well worth the investment.

[sailboatmike]

I only dream of ramps that steep, I know when Im in far enough because the water is lapping the running boards just behind the drivers door of my Cherokee, which I know isnt the highest car but it means getting over half the car in the water, its a real PITA and means not only the trailer has to be washed down but all under the car as well

[Tomfoolery]

I only dream of ramps that steep, I know when Im in far enough because the water is lapping the running boards just behind the drivers door of my Cherokee, which I know isnt the highest car but it means getting over half the car in the water, its a real PITA and means not only the trailer has to be washed down but all under the car as well

I found it similar when I launched/hauled in Toronto a few years ago, where the ramp is very shallow. It seemed like half the vehicle was beyond the water line.

If that's a routine thing for you, maybe an extended pole tongue would be best. Or an extension, just for launch/haul, that you telescope out (plain coupler; no brakes) and pin (or with a welded stop so no pin is needed) to use just for dunking. I've seen a lot of trailers on the 'net with that feature, and also short extensions with a ball, either with or without a wheel heavy enough to ride on the ramp.

May not be worth the trouble, but what I've seen is pretty simple, and keeps the vehicle much further up the ramp.

[Neo]

...an extension, just for launch/haul, that you telescope out (plain coupler; no brakes) and pin (or with a welded stop so no pin is needed) to use just for dunking. I've seen a lot of trailers on the 'net with that feature, and also short extensions with a ball, either with or without a wheel heavy enough to ride on the ramp.

I've considered something like this but many times the car parking space is sloped towards the front of the trailer/car so getting the ball to detach for an extension bar would be a real PITA. .... I've never seen a telescope one Tom. Could you please post up some any information on that?

[Tomfoolery]

[sailboatmike]

My trailer does have a slight extension on the draw bar, but the Cherokee really isnt much higher than a standard road car, Im thinking of getting rid of the front bunk and putting a keel roller in its place with some side fences so the boat cant bounce off it.

The club tractor I can use now can only go as far as the tyres to the water line and that leaves the front bunk about 4 inches high and dry even with the tractors extension arm fully extended, at least with a roller it will reduce the friction of the front bunk and should make life a bit easier.

[Tomfoolery]

I was thinking of adding a wide, self-centering roller right behind the bunk, to help it up onto the bunk, but it may be less work to cut the bunk off and mount a roller instead. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the idea.

[Neo]

The club tractor I can use now can only go as far as the tyres to the water line and that leaves the front bunk about 4 inches high and dry even with the tractors extension arm fully extended, at least with a roller it will reduce the friction of the front bunk and should make life a bit easier.

Sounds like you might benefit from spraying the bunks with lube just before you put the trailer in the water.
A combination of nylon skids and that lube that made for boat trailer bunks might be the way to go but I think I'l spay mine with cheap Lithium grease next time.

I was thinking of adding a wide, self-centering roller right behind the bunk, to help it up onto the bunk, but it may be less work to cut the bunk off and mount a roller instead. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the idea.

A flat Self Centring is what I have on my other (single axle) trailer and I'm going to do the same in this dual axle trailer too. I saw the bow lifted about 3 or 4 inches so that roller must be taking a lot of weight on steep ramps. With that in mind I think Dual/V-rollers might make it harder to haul the boat out/up.

It's easy to weld some gal box section just behind the 1st bunk. Position it inside the channel, resting on the lower shelf and there's only a few welds spots to do....

[sailboatmike]

Yes I think the blue bunk stuff would also help, the carpet on mine isnt exactly what one could call low friction material

[Neo]

BCF were the cheapest I could find.
You can use SS bolts/washers and recess the bolt heads into the skids. Mine are doubled up so if I remember right I used four 1.5m strips on each bunk and cut one up to make the 1st bunk. So 9 strips in total.
One down side is they are thicker than carpet. So unless you use thinner lengths of wood (maybe hardwood) you will technically be raising the ground clearance of the hull.

[Neo]

Just thought that the longer the extension/draw bar the more chance of it scraping/stopping at the top of a steep ramp..... unless you have a very high towbar or car

[Tomfoolery]

Just thought that the longer the extension/draw bar the more chance of it scraping/stopping at the top of a steep ramp..... unless you have a very high towbar or car

That's true, but you'd only need it for shallow ramps anyway. You have to back much further into the water to get that little vee bunk wet on a shallow ramp than a steep ramp.

Unless the ramp in question has questionable traction ability near the water, in which case an extension is probably a good thing. But there are ways to handle that, like with a chain or cable (or rigid bar) and a wheel on the tongue that can handle the loaded boat trailer (bigger than the little one usually found on the landing gear). That's how some folks launch small keel boats, where the trailer really has to go far into the water.